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Over the last few years, COVID-19 moved a large portion of workers into a digital-first space that most didn’t see coming. Now, because of the pervasive pandemic, experts are saying the workforce is leaving employees behind as they move into a tech-driven future.
Today Salesforce released its new Global Digital Skills Index, with new data revealing a growing digital skills crisis and an urgent need for action.
The survey included responses from more than 23,000 people across 19 countries and measures how ready people around the world feel to learn digital work skills, and how they will show up in their lives over five years. The results were revealing.
The survey found that 76% of global workers do not feel ready to operate in a digital-first world, but only 28% are actively involved in digital skills learning and training. The survey results also found that there is a major gap emerging between everyday digital skills and those needed for work, especially among younger workers . The countries represented in the survey ranged from scores of 63 to 15 out of 100 (with the U.S. reporting a 36/100), highlighting that while certain countries feel more digitally ready than others, there is an urgent need for global investment to close the digital skills gap and build a more inclusive workforce.
These results may come as a surprise since social media has been central to most of our lives, but the report showed everyday digital activity doesn’t translate to the workplace.
Salesforce reported that more than two thirds of all Gen Z respondents (64%) say they have advanced social media skills — supporting the stereotype of digital mastery among the younger generation — but less than a third (31%) believe they have the advanced digital workplace skills needed by businesses now.
Because of this, businesses have to face the fact that they have to have systems in place to narrow this skills gap. According to a news release, Salesforce is investing in diversifying the workplace through their Trailblazer Series on Salesforce+, a series that showcases the stories of five Black leaders who transformed their careers by learning new tech skills.